Category Biology/Biotechnology

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a new sensory organ that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts. The discovery is being published in the journal ‘Science’.

Pain causes suffering and results in substantial costs for society. Almost one person in every five experiences constant pain and there is a considerable need to find new painkilling drugs. However, sensitivity to pain is also required for survival and it has a protective function...

Researchers have discovered how our choice of diet can weaken our gut immune system and lead to the development of diabetes. A growing body of research supports that during obesity, our immune system is often responding to components of bacteria that “leak” through the intestinal tissue and results in inflammation. In turn, inflammation can drive insulin resistance, which predisposes people to diabetes.

In new research published in Nature Communications this week, Dr...

Comfortable brace incorporates both sensors and actuators to restore roughly 70% of the active range of motion. A novel neck brace, which supports the neck during its natural motion, was designed by Columbia engineers. This is the first device shown to dramatically assist patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in holding their heads and actively supporting them during range of motion. This advance would result in improved quality of life for patients, not only in improving eye contact during conversation, but also in facilitating the use of eyes as a joystick to control movements on a computer, much as scientist Stephen Hawkins famously did.

A team of engineers and neurologists led by Sunil Agrawal, professor of mecha...

The discovery of the previously unknown mutation could lead to routine testing of individuals with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer to determine if they carry the mutation, occurring in the gene known as RABL3. Scientists studying a highly cancer-prone family have identified a rare, inherited gene mutation that dramatically raises the lifetime risk of pancreatic and other cancers.

The discovery of the previously unknown mutation, reported in Nature Genetics by investigators from Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, could lead to routine testing of individuals with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer to determine if they carry the mutation, occurring in the gene known as RABL3...